AFRICA: In Nigeria, the Niger Delta Avengers militant group said it attacked more oil infrastructure, ignoring a call for unity from President Muhammadu Buhari.

AMERICAS: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government has lodged some 400 individual complaints over allegedly invalid signatures submitted in a bid to remove him from office.

ASIA: Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani has welcomed the decision of US President Obama to maintain American troops’ presence in Afghanistan into 2017.

EUROPE: German Chancellor Angela Merkel defended NATO‘s plans to boost troop deployments in Central and Eastern Europe as a result of tensions with Russia.

MIDDLE EAST: In Syria, activists and state media are reporting continued violence, despite a day old truce.

TECHNOLOGY: Facebook announced a major step in easier Internet access – an open source, wireless platform called OpenCellular.

TOP STORY

Bangladesh: Three dead in another Islamic extremist attack.

Islamic extremists in Bangladesh hurled homemade bombs and engaged in a gunbattle with police guarding a large Eid prayer at the end of the holy Muslim month.

Three people have been killed, including one police officer, along with several injured.

The attack occurred at Sholakia Eidgah, a prayer ground in the Kishoreganj district, northeast of Dhaka, the capital, where more than 100,000 people were estimated to have gathered there for Eid al-Fitr.

It was one of the deadliest attacks ever in Bangladesh, where al Qaeda and Islamic State have made competing claims for a series of killings of liberals and members of religious minorities in the past year.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but the government insisted it was carried out by domestic militants fighting to destabilize PM Sheikh Hasina’s secular government.

Nigeria: The Niger Delta Avengers militant group said it attacked more oil infrastructure, ignoring a call for unity from President Muhammadu Buhari. (AFP)

Nigeria: The country’s central bank has played down fears of a banking crisis, dismissing suggestions some high-street lenders were in trouble. (AFP)

AMERICAS

Brazil: An additional 3,000 troops have been added to the security contingent for next month’s Olympic Games. (Xinhua)

Colombia: A unit of the country’s FARC rebel group said it will not lay down arms or demobilize under a potential peace deal with the government. (Reuters)

Venezuela: President Nicolas Maduro’s government has lodged some 400 individual complaints over allegedly invalid signatures submitted in a bid to remove him from office. (AFP)

ASIA

Region: US destroyers have sailed close to Chinese-held reefs and islands in the disputed South China Sea in recent weeks, US naval officials said. (Reuters)

Afghanistan: President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani has welcomed the decision of US President Obama to maintain American troops’ presence in the country into 2017. (Xinhua)

New Zealand: Opposition politicians said they have been vindicated by the British Chilcot Report over their decision to refuse to join the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. (Xinhua)

Taiwan: Dozens of flights were cancelled, with schools and offices closed as the island braced for a direct hit from super typhoon Nepartak. (AFP)

EUROPE

Region: German Chancellor Angela Merkel defended NATO‘s plans to boost troop deployments in Central and Eastern Europe as a result of tensions with Russia. (DPA)

Region: Italian navy officials say they have recovered 217 bodies from the hull of a migrant ship that sank off Libya last year. (AP)

Russia: Despite a rising HIV epidemic in the country, officials appear to be clamping down on the few organizations trying to fight the spread of the virus. (AFP)

Ukraine: US Secretary of State John Kerry meets President Petro Poroshenko to reaffirm support for Kiev against pro-Russian insurgents. (AFP)

MIDDLE EAST

Region: Two years after Gaza’s last devastating conflict with Israel, rights groups vented frustration over the slow pace of reconstruction in the Palestinian territory and lack of war crimes prosecutions. (AFP)

Iraq: Human Rights Watch called for transparency from the country over its promised investigation of alleged abuses, including executions of civilians, by its forces during the recapture of Fallujah from ISIS. (AFP)

Syria: Activists and media are reporting continued violence, despite a day old truce. (AP)

TECHNOLOGY AND COMMUNICATIONS

Technology: Facebook announced a major step in easier Internet access – an open source, wireless platform called OpenCellular. (Mashable)